The
12th-ranked Florida men’s tennis team shutout the UCF Knights, 7-0, on
Wednesday evening at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex. The Gators improved
to 2-0 on the season with two matches scheduled for this weekend as UF hosts
the 2013 ITA Kick-Off Weekend.
Once
again, the Gators used a strong doubles performance to take a 1-0 lead in the
match. At the No. 2 doubles position, Florida’s pair of Bob van Overbeek and
Stephane Piro cruised to an 8-1 victory over UCF’s Francesc Aulina and Jorge
Blasco. At No. 3 doubles, Billy Federhofer and Luke Johnson then clinched the point
for UF with an 8-3 win over the Knights’ Matthew Gladstone and Jose Sangroniz.
“It
was great to play a night match,” said head coach Bryan Shelton. “I was pleased
with our energy level. For playing a match at 5:00 at night, I thought the guys
did a good job preparing. I was happy we came out of the blocks firing in
doubles and were able to get large leads at the 2 and 3 spots and really
establish some momentum in the match.”
The
No. 1 doubles match was halted at 4-4 between the Gators’ Mike Alford and
Florent Diep and UCF’s Amar Hromic and Juan Bolona.
In
singles action, van Overbeek cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 3 singles over
Sangroniz, giving the Gators a 2-0 lead in the match. Alford and Piro then finished
within minutes of each other to clinch the victory for Florida. Alford defeated
Gladstone, 6-2, 6-1, on court three and Piro beat Hromic, 6-3, 6-3, at the No.
2 position.
“In
singles, Bob did a great job of being the catalyst for the team in his first
match this season for us,” said Coach Shelton. “I was happy to see him not only
start the match well, but finish it off well. I thought overall we just played
solid tennis and competed well tonight.”
Diep
won at No. 1 singles, 6-3, 6-4, over UCF’s Blasco and Federhofer beat Aulina,
6-4, 6-3, on court five. Johnson completed the sweep with a 7-6 (3), 6-2 win at
No. 6 singles over Bolona.
